New Hampshire Governor Calls For Aid To Ailing Dairy Farmers

New Hampshire’s Gov. Maggie Hassan is calling on a state legislative task force to provide assistance to dairy farmers who have been hit hard by a long-running drought and low milk prices.

In a letter to the chairman of the state Legislature’s Dairy Producers Task Force, Hassan called for assistance to the Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund in order “to help this important industry survive in New Hampshire.”

Officials have recommended that the Legislature approve up to $3.6 million in emergency aid for drought assistance and that lawmakers include $2 million in each year of the next biennium budget for the Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund. The fund was created in 2007 to address raw milk pricing shortfalls but has not been funded since its inception.